ABQ hospitals behind initiative to hire, buy and develop local

Marissa Higdon

This article highlights an exciting partnership developing in Albuquerque, New Mexico among universities, hospitals, and local government that will help align healthcare institutions' resources toward community local hiring and sourcing. The inspiration for this alliance lies in Cleveland, Ohio with the Evergreen Cooperatives, a group of worker cooperatives pioneered by The Democracy Collaborative in the effort to democratize the local economy:

The next piece of the initiative is buying local. Larson says partners are working to identify items they could buy locally. One possibility is buying food from local food co-ops. The opportunities go beyond farming. Larson says a similar initiative in Cleveland, Ohio, created a system where hospitals hired local businesses to do their laundry.

"If we can work on all of these components, we can help these neighborhoods be healthier, and the total cost of providing health care will actually drop," Larson said... Read full article.